Pandora as laptop replacement at a "geek conference" / during holidays


ivanovic

ivanovic

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As some that frequent IRC might have heard I have spent the 22nd and 23rd of this Month in Mountainview at the Google Summer of Code 2011 Mentor Summit. This is basically a meeting of ~2 delegates from each open source project that participated in GSOC as mentoring organization. Following the summit I spend some days on holidays in San Francisco.


So now some comments regarding my experiences just based on this summit (I already have the pandora since June 2010, so had some time to get used to it in everyday life but not as full laptop replacement for a conference/holiday):


I used the pandora as "laptop replacement" since carrying a laptop (or even netbook) around with you all the time if can feel quite heavy. Besides I wanted to make some real use of the battery time. Basically I booted my pandora in the morning in the bus to google, started wifi (yeah, there was already wifi in the google bus!), started IRC as well as a web browser and basically left the pandora on during all of the day, with a closed lid when moving around, but still booted and fully connected to wifi. The pandora itself managed to stay working all of the day (meaning 9am till almost 6pm) and was usable for chatting as well as reading up in the summit wiki and using the web. Yes, the browser (no matter if firefox or midori) crashed every now and then due out of memory, but nothing that a restart could not fix. The really great thing was that the pandora did not require a power outlet.


The "not so great" thing is that you don't want to take the session notes on the pandora, for that it is better to rely on someone with a full laptop, though for some short messages the pandora was basically perfect during the summit.


The general perception of the pandora from summit members was basically "wow, want!". Several people asked me what this device is or asked something along the lines of "is this a pandora?". They were thrilled to see how fast it works (eg scrolling in the web browser being smooth!) as well as how great the battery times and the features are. Keep in mind that these were heads / core devs of major open source projects, so they tend to know their way around tech gadgets. They also asked about the price and though it to be fair considering the value and the hardware. Especially nice is basically that there is a full linux behind it allowing to eg easily debug and use "full" tools. The software itself was also praised, eg the discovery and smooth working of the pnd system.


Basic conclusion of this is that it should easily be possible to sell some pandora during summits of open source people like eg the FOSDEM.


Besides the summit I also used the pandora for surfing during my time in San Francisco. That basically means making use of the free wifi in the hotel which was not too fast (okay, the airport wifi at SFO was significantly worse!). It was all usable and great to be able to just visit wikitravel to get some recommendations for pubs/restaurants. And yeah, on the trip home it was also nice to have a gaming device at hand.


Summary:


Open source people seem to be quite interested to get their hands on a device like the pandora. Even though (okay, especially because) it does not feature a limiting android but a full Linux OS with full capabilities and several well thought things in the background. Is it usable as laptop replacement? Yes, absolutely, though just for holidays/conferences, not for everyday stuff unless you got things like a "real" keyboard at hands.
 
yep the pandora is simply the tits.


If your only issue is the keyboard for full lecture note taking could you not bring along a fold up bluetooth keyboard aswell for note taking and typing large segments of text? i believe dell make a keyboard that folds in to four so it folds up to about the size of the pandora. you could always carry one of them about when you know you are likelly to be taking large amounts of notes?
 
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@Askarus: If you have to carry a Keyboard + TV Out Cable + LCD around with you then I would rather pick the Laptop... or Netbook for that matter...


But yes, Pandora is nice for such tasks on the go... simply because of its brilliant battery life.
 
Things i had not done in years last week I when to a LUG... with my pandora.


Results : my pandora spent more time in others' hands then in mines and I'm binded to do a presentation about our community and the device next month.


You already know the pandora's capability to take notes, so you know it would be your perfect friend for the meeting. With the last Prometheus thread about her holydays, you know the device will be your friends durring your holydays. My only advice : hide your pandora from others eyes or else it wont be gsoc submit for you but yet an other Pandora exhibit ;)
 
Ivanovic, thanks for the post, this is exactly what I want my Pandora for (apart from gaming) WORK, all I need my laptop for in work, is browsing, taking a few quick notes, a little bit of word processing, e-mailing the odd picture, and accessing my lightning calendar/the best thunderbird add on, honestly the Pandora when I get hold of mine will be fantastic, no more lugging my laptop and psp plus the power adapters about, and an all day charge, I just can't wait, well obviously I can I've been waiting eighteen months, so it's nice to see someone use it for some real world stuff, excellent. :rolleyes:
 
haha thats so true, was on holiday a week back and had loads of randomers stopping in a wifi cafe to find out why my nintendo ds has a keyboard on it, and there they could get one
 
I second that, My Pandora has replaced my desktop and laptop for long periods of time. It's just a great device to have, being able to pull out a full desktop environment out of your pocket is just great. It's also great for passing around files quickly like after class, just plug in their USB drive and copy while talking/working/walking.
 
The Pandora is a truly fantastic conference tool. There is nothing like it. It's only downside in this setting is its lack of VGA-out which means you require additional hardware for connecting to beamers.
 
I used the Pandora at Flash on the Beach (Brighton) and Braille21 (Leipzig) conferences last month. Ah no, its November now. Month before last then.


There was some interest sure, although a conference for blind people is perhaps not the best place to show it off, but as a work device it was great. Fits in my trouser pocket, on all day, all the normal destop programs you'd need.


Best of all, though, is its tiny size. I am addicted to screens, as I suspect many of you are too, and don't like this fact. So having a perfectly usable 4.5" screen instead of a 12" screen is strangely freeing. I've still got a computer, I can still work just the same, its just no longer the Alpha and Omega of tools when its on the table in front of me. "Hey look, its my notebook! And my sketchbook!" I'd forgotten how much more productive that was to spread paper liberally over a surface and use a computer when its actually needed.
 
Thread tits no pics useless etc


Agree, the comfort level of the form factor and long battery life make this the most ideal device I've ever seen designed for portable computing tasks. The fact it can replace a laptop in most respects shows that its power is plenty regardless of its age.


And kudos for OPT roll on.
 
To precise things:


The comfort factor when typing/browsing is not as high as with a full laptop. Simply because the display resolution is lower and you'd need to carry an extra keyboard for the typing if you want to get "larger stuff" done (especially coding with many non letters). But the comfort factor is high when thinking about battery runtime (no need to hunt for a wall plug!) as well as the size/weight, since you can easily fit it into a smallish bag where lots of free room will be left and it won't get too heavy at all.


Yes, the weight/size part is important to me on holidays. I would not want to leave a laptop lying in my hotel room, so I'd have to take it with me all the time. When walking through a town all days the weight really gets at you eventually. There I tend to have a backpack with me anyway, in which I tend to have something to drink and something to read, so the Pandora has lots of room and fits in perfectly, where the "full size laptop" would be more problematic.


But yes, if I had to do "serious buisness" I'd most likely still have the laptop with me (1400x1050 vs 800x480...). For fun conferences and holidays the Pandora is a "perfect toy" though.
 
I equate a laptop for 'serious business'. On the other hand ,I identify my Pandoras as fun, luxury,tinkering devices not of the typical mold.


Cheers.
 
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The only reason I don't use my Open Pandora for serious business is that it cannot run Microsoft Windows natively. Never cared about screen resolution unless functionality is lost, which admittedly does happen on occasion with the OP. Rarely websites, though.


I try to live patiently and work meticulously (best programming comes from this imo), so the typing speed and small screen don't really inhibit me in any significant way.
 
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